Jamaica
Jamaica is an
island nation of the
Greater Antilles, 240 kilometres (150
mi) in length and as much as 85 kilometres (50 mi) in width situated in the
Caribbean Sea. It is 635 kilometres (391 mi) east of the
Central American mainland, 150 kilometres (93 mi) south of
Cuba, and 180 kilometres (112 mi) west of the
island of
Hispaniola, on which
Haiti and the
Dominican Republic are situated. Its
indigenous Arawakan-speaking
TaÃno inhabitants named the island
Xaymaca, meaning either the "land of springs," or the "Land of wood and water." Formerly a
Spanish possession known as
Santiago, then the
British West Indies Crown colony of Jamaica, the country's
population is composed mainly of the descendants of former
African slaves. It is the third most populous
Anglophone country in the
Americas, after the
United States and
Canada.
The original
Arawak or
Taino people from
South America first settled on the island between 1000 and 400 BC. Although some claim they became virtually extinct following contact with
Europeans, others claim that some survived.
Jamaica was claimed for
Spain after
Christopher Columbus first landed there in 1494. Columbus used it as his family's private estate. The
British Admiral
William Penn (father of
William Penn of Pennsylvania) and General Venables seized the island in 1655. During its first 200 years of British rule, Jamaica became the world's largest
sugar exporting nation and produced over 77,000 tons of sugar annually between 1820 and 1824, which was achieved through the massive use of imported
African
slave labour.
By the beginning of the 19th century, the United Kingdom's heavy reliance on slavery resulted in blacks outnumbering whites by a ratio of almost 20 to one, leading to constant threat of revolt. Following a series of rebellions, slavery was formally abolished in 1834, with full
emancipation from chattel slavery declared in 1838.
Jamaica slowly gained increasing independence from the
United Kingdom, and in 1958 Jamaica became a province in the
Federation of the West Indies, a federation between all the
British West Indies. Jamaica attained full independence by leaving the federation in 1962.
However, the initial optimism following Jamaican independence for the next decade or so vanished as Jamaica lagged economically. Rising foreign debt under the government of
Michael Manley, who was determined to alleviate Jamaica's severe economic inequality, led to the imposition of
IMF austerity measures. Deteriorating economic conditions and the involvement of the Central Intelligence Agency due to Manley's international socialism and friendship with Fidel Castro led to a desperately fought re-election campaign between Manley's
People's National Party and the main opposition, the
Jamaica Labour Party. Both political parties became linked with rival gangs in Kingston, which were duly armed. This policy, along with the increasing emergence of Jamaica as a smuggling point for cocaine during the 1980s, led to recurrent violence and only served to increase the impoverishment of a large section of the Jamaican populace. The ultimate result of this cycle of violence, drugs and poverty has been the brutal gun warfare seen on Kingston's streets from the mid-1990s onwards. The Jamaican
police force has also been accused of complicity in this murderous side of the island. It must be noted, however, that the rural sections of the island, especially in and around the resort towns of
Negril,
Montego Bay,
Ocho Rios, and
Port Antonio, remain relatively safe.
The former capital of Jamaica was
Spanish Town in St. Catherine parish, the site of the old Spanish colonial capital. The Spanish named the town Santiago de la Vega. In 1655 when the British captured the island, much of the old Spanish capital was burned by the invading British troops. The town was rebuilt by the British and renamed Spanish Town. It remained the capital until 1872, when the city of Kingston was named capital under questionable circumstances.
 |
Map of Jamaica |
Jamaica's current
Constitution was drafted in 1962 by a bipartisan joint committee of the Jamaica legislature. It came into force with the Jamaica Independence Act, 1962 of the
United Kingdom Parliament, which gave Jamaica political independence.
The Jamaican
head of state is
Queen Elizabeth II, who is given the title of "Queen of Jamaica". The Queen is represented by a
Governor-General, nominated by the Prime Minister and all the members of the cabinet and appointed by the monarch. Both the Queen and the Governor-General serve largely ceremonial roles(excluding their reserve powers).
The
Parliament of Jamaica is
bicameral, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Members of the House (known as 'Members of Parliament' or MPs) are directly elected, and the member of the House of Representatives who in Governor-General's best judgement is best able to command the confidence of a majority of the members of that House, is appointed by the Governor-General to be the
Prime Minister. Senators are appointed by the Prime Minister, and the parliamentary
Leader of the Opposition.
In February 2006, Prime Minister
Portia Simpson-Miller was elected by delegates of the ruling People's National Party to replace
P. J. Patterson at the end of March 2006 when he left office. Mrs. Simpson-Miller is the first female Prime Minister in Jamaican history. Former Prime Minister Patterson held office since the 1992 resignation of
Michael Manley. Patterson was re-elected three times, the last being in 2002. The current leader of the opposition is
Bruce Golding.
Jamaica has traditionally had a
two party system, with power often alternating between the
People's National Party and
Jamaica Labour PartyJamaica is full and participating member of the
Caribbean Community Jamaica is divided into 3
counties and subdivided into 14
parishes.
*
Surrey (county) in the east, containing the following parishes:
**
Kingston**
Portland**
Saint Andrew**
Saint Thomas*
Middlesex (county) in the centre, containing the following parishes:
**
Clarendon**
Manchester**
Saint Ann**
Saint Catherine**
Saint Mary*
Cornwall (county) in the west, containing the following parishes:
**
Hanover**
Saint Elizabeth**
Saint James**
Trelawny**
WestmorelandJamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean, and the fourth largest country. The island of Jamaica has mountains inland surrounded by a narrow coastal plain. For this reason, most major cities are located on the coast. Chief towns include the capital
Kingston,
Spanish Town,
Mandeville,
Montego Bay,
Ocho Rios, and
Port Antonio.
The climate in Jamaica is tropical, with hot and humid weather, although inland regions have a more temperate climate. Some regions on the south coast, such as the Liguanea Plain and the Pedro Plains are relatively dry rain-shadow areas like rainforests.
Jamaica is a mixed, free-market economy with state enterprises as well as private sector businesses. Major sectors of the Jamaican economy include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism and financial and insurance services. Tourism and mining are the leading foreign exchange earners.
Supported by multilateral financial institutions, Jamaica has, since the early 1980's, sought to implement structural reforms aimed at fostering private sector activity and increasing the role of market forces in resource allocation. Since 1991, the Government has followed a program of economic liberalisation and stabilisation by removing exchange controls, floating the exchange rate, cutting tariffs, stabilizing the Jamaican currency, reducing inflation and removing restrictions on foreign investment. Emphasis has been placed on maintaining strict fiscal discipline, greater openness to trade and financial flows, market liberalization and reduction in the size of government. During this period, a large share of the economy was returned to private sector ownership through divestment and privatisation programmes.
The macroeconomic stabilisation programme introduced in 1991, which focused on tight fiscal and monetary policies, has contributed to a controlled reduction in the rate of inflation. The annual inflation rate has decreased from a high of 80.2% in 1991 to 7.9% in 1998. inflation for FY1998/99 was 6.2% compared to 7.2% in the corresponding period in FY1997/98. The Government remains committed to lowering inflation, with a long-term objective of bringing it in line with that of its major trading partners.
After a period of steady growth from 1985 to 1995, real
GDP decreased by 1.8% and 2.4% in 1996 and 1997, respectively. The decrease in GDP in 1996 and 1997 was largely due to significant problems in the financial sector and, in 1997, a severe island-wide drought (the worst in 70 years) that drastically reduced agricultural production. In 1997, nominal GDP was approximately J$220,556.2 million (US$6,198.9 million based on the average annual exchange rate of the period).
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Fishing boats and bauxite cargo ships share the waterways near Alligator Pond, Jamaica |
The economy in 1997 was marked by low levels of import growth, high levels of private capital inflows and relative stability in the foreign exchange market.
Recent economic performance shows the Jamaican economy is recovering.
Agricultural production, an important engine of growth increased 15.3% in third quarter of 1998 compared to the corresponding period in 1997, signalling the first positive growth rate in the sector since January 1997.
Bauxite and
alumina production increased 5.5% from January to December, 1998 compared to the corresponding period in 1997. January's bauxite production recorded a 7.1% increase relative to January 1998.
Tourism, which is the largest foreign exchange earner, showed improvement as well. Growth in tourist arrivals accelerated in the third quarter of 1998 and tourism earnings, increased 8.5% from January to December 31, 1998 compared to the corresponding period in 1997. Donnie Dawson is now the Director of Tourism for the island.
Jamaica has a fully digital telephone communication system that is rivalled globally. Jamaica has a mobile penetration of over 90%, outstripped its giant neighbour to the North, the US. The country's three mobile operators are - Cable and Wireless (800,000 subscribers),
Digicel (1.5M subscribers), and Oceanic Digital (100,000 subscribers) - have spent millions in network upgrade and expansion. There are some 2.7 million people living in Jamaica. The Irish owned Digicel has become generic for mobile phones in Jamaica. Digicel was granted a licence in 2001, along with Oceanic Digital to operate mobile services in the newly liberalised telecoms market that was once the monopoly domain of the incumbent Cable and Wireless. Digicel opted for the more global, GSM while Oceanic which currently trades as MiPHone, for the CDMA. The incumbent Cable and Wireless, had begun with the TDMA, but subsequently upgraded to the GSM, and currently uses both services on its network.
With the mobile revolution that Digicel initiated, land lines, provided by Cable and Wireless, declined from just over half a million to roughly about three hundred thousand at the moment. Cable and Wireless, recently in a bid to grab more market share, launched a new land line service called HomeFone that would allow customers to prepay for services rather than post-paid. Though, there were new entrants in that landline industry, their performance has been lacklustre, and the population kept opting for more mobiles, in some cases two mobiles, as per major operator. A new entrant Flow Jamaica, has recently laid a new submarine cable which would give the island access to four, is presently rolling out a bunch of services, Cable, Telephone, and Internet, in its, ‘Click, Watch and Talk' campaign.
After, a successful launch in Jamaica, where Digicel captured 100, 000 thousand customers in 100 days, it continued on an aggressive Caribbean expansion, which now saw it operating in more than fifteen Caribbean territories. For the Financial year, March 2005-March 2006, Jamaica contributed almost half a billion dollars USD417M, to Digicel's total Caribbean revenue of USD624M. Currently, Digicel is rolling out, the WiMAX wireless technology, to get more Jamaicans connected to the internet via broadband.
Two more licenses were auctioned by the Jamaican government to provide mobile services in the island, one that was previously owned by AT&T, but did not start operation and a new one. However industry analyst argued that with a near market saturation, there is hardly room for more operators.
The majority of Jamaicans, at least 90%, are of
West African descent, their ancestors having been abducted from Africa during the
slave trade. People of mixed heritage, including Arawak/Taino Indian and African, West European and African, or Chinese and East Indian, make up about 4.9% of the population. People of Cuban, Lebanese, Syrian, South Asian, European, and other minorities are also present.
Over the past several decades, hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans have emigrated, especially to the United States but also to Canada, the United Kingdom and other countries. This emigration appears to have been tapering off somewhat in recent years. Canada also has a
guest worker program (Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program) which draws on workers from the Caribbean and especially from Jamaica.
The language of government and education is
English, although the
patois form of
Jamaican Creole is widely spoken. Most Jamaicans can use both Patois and English depending on the circumstances and often combine the two. English is the most obvious influence on Patois, but it includes words and syntax from Spanish, Yoruba, Akan, Arawak, French, Chinese, Portuguese, and East Indian languages. In general, Patois differs from English in both pronunciation and syntax. The language's characteristics includes similarities with both Irish and West African forms of English in pronouncing 'TH' as if it was the letter D or T, omitting some initial consonant sounds, principally the 'H'. For example, the word "there" is pronounced as "dere," the word theater is pronounced as "teater." A number of linguists believe Patois is a separate language; others consider it an alternate form of English.
Research shows that 80.0% of Jamaica's population are
Christian. The majority of them are
Protestants, which is primarily due to the influence of British
colonialism, and later the influence of US
denominations.
Roman Catholicism, which arrived with early Spanish
colonisation, also enjoys a significant presence on the island. The top 5 denominations in Jamaica today are:
Church of God: 21.2%,
Seventh-day Adventist: 9.0%,
Baptist: 8.8%,
Pentecostal: 7.6%, and
Anglican: 5.0%
Non-Christian religions are numerous, the largest being the
Rastafari movement which was founded on the island and reveres the late Emperor
Haile Selassie I of
Ethiopia.
Obeah is a belief system with roots in the West African Yoruba
Orisha traditions and has similarities to
Vodon,
Santeria,
Candomble and other imports to the Americas which arrived with enslaved West Africans.
Hinduism and
Buddhism also appear due to immigration from
India and
China.
Islam and
Judaism are less than half a percent.
Over the past several decades, close to a million Jamaicans have
emigrated, especially to the
United States, the
United Kingdom and
Canada. This emigration appears to have been tapering off somewhat in recent years, however the great number of Jamaicans living abroad has become known as the "
Jamaican diaspora". Due to Commonwealth law and Jamaica's history with Great Britain, most Jamaican emigrants have followed a path first to the UK, and then if they do not remain in the UK, on to other Commonwealth countries such as Canada. Today that trend has changed with more Jamaican emigrants going directly to the United States, Canada, other Caribbean nations, Central & South America, and even Africa (most notably Egypt and Ethiopia) without having to pass through the UK first.
Concentrations of
expatriate Jamaicans are large in a number of cities in the United States, including
New York City, the
Miami metro area,
Atlanta,
Orlando,
Tampa,
Baltimore,
Philadelphia and
Los Angeles. In Canada, the Jamaican population is centred in
Toronto; in the
United Kingdom, Jamaican communities exist in most large cities where they make up the larger part of the
British African-Caribbean community.
New York City is home to the largest Jamaican diaspora community of all, with a large community along Flatbush, Nostrand and Utica Avenues in Brooklyn—centred around the neighbourhoods of
Prospect Heights,
Lefferts Gardens,
Flatbush,
East Flatbush,
Crown Heights,
Canarsie, and
Flatlands. The
Bronx,
Queens and
Westchester also has a significant Jamaican ex-pat community. Flatbush, Nostrand, and Utica Avenues feature miles of Jamaican cuisine, food markets & other businesses, nightlife and residential enclaves. Throughout the summer months of June, July, August and early September, there are a variety of plays, dance performances concerts, festivals representing Jamaican & Caribbean culture; and culminates during the last week in August leading up to Labor Day Monday in September with the Parade/Carnival along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn. Events include a Children's Parade, Steel Pan competition, various concerts & parties, Juve in the early morning hours on Labor Day; and later on Labor Day Monday, the various mas camps 'broke out & whine' for the Judges' panel in front of the Brooklyn Museum.
In
Toronto, the Jamaican community makes up nearly 7% of the city's 2.5 million people, and includes a
Little Jamaica neighbourhood. Other Caribbean areas in the city are located in
York, North York,
Scarborough and
Rexdale. The Jamaican community influences the city in a huge way. The world's largest festival, called
Caribana ( The celebration of Carribbean culture) is an annual event here. Jamaica Day is in July. And the Jesus in the City Parade hugely attracts many Jamaican Christians. This festival is held downtown every September, shutting down Yonge street- the busiest main street in downtown Toronto. Reggae and Gospel now have made it into Toronto's mainstream.
London has a strong Jamaican diaspora; One of the largest and most famous Jamaican ex-pat communities is in
Brixton,
South London. Other Jamaican communities include the areas of
Chapeltown in
Leeds, Moss Side in
Manchester, Toxteth in
Liverpool,
Burngreave in
Sheffield and Handsworth in
Birmingham.
More recently many resort and wild-life management skilled Jamaicans have been trending emigration toward such far-flung nations as
Thailand,
Madagascar and
Indonesia. The nation continues to have a severe problem with
barrel children--those left on their own by parents seeking a better life abroad.
The emancipation of the slaves heralded in the establishment of Jamaican Education System for the masses. Prior to emancipation there were some elite schools for the plantocracy. Others sent their children off to England to access quality education.
After emancipation the West Indian Commission granted a sum of money to establish Elementary Schools, now known as All Age Schools, for the children of the freed slaves. Most of these schools were established by the churches. This was the genesis of the stratified system of education that is still currently embedded in the policies of the 21st Century.
Presently the following categories of schools exist:
Early Childhood â€" Basic, Infant and privately operated pre- school. Age cohort â€" 2 â€" 4 years.
Primary â€" Publicly and privately owned (Privately owned being called Preparatory Schools (Prep). Ages 4 â€" 11 years.
Secondary â€" Publicly and privately owned. Ages 11 â€" 18 years. There are many prestigious high schools all over the island that have "attained greatness because of the education they offer. Some include Meadowbrook HIgh School, Campion College, Immaculate Conception High School, The Mannings School, Manchester High School, Wolmers High for Boys, Wolmers High for Girls, The Calabar High School,St. Jago High School, The Kingston College, The Jamaica College and many more.
Tertiary - Community Colleges, Teachers' Colleges, Vocational Training Centres, Colleges and Universities. Some include The
University of the West Indies (popular for the faculty of medicine),
Northern Caribbean University,
Moneague College, Bethlehem Community College and many more.
There is no free education in Jamaica above the Primary Level. Although there isn't free education, they have a place for those who can't afford further education.
The
Jamaican Defence Force (JDF) is the small but professional military force of Jamaica. The JDF is based upon the British military model with organisation, training, weapons and traditions closely aligned with Commonwealth Realm Countries. Once chosen, officer candidates are sent to one of several British or Canadian basic officer courses depending upon which arm of service they are slated for. Enlisted soldiers are given basic training at JDF Training Depot, Newcastle. As on the British model, NCOs are given several levels of professional training as they rise up the ranks. Additional military schools are available for speciality training in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
The JDF is directly descended from the British
West Indies Regiment formed during the colonial era. The West Indies Regiment was used extensively by the British Empire in policing the empire from 1795 to 1926. Other units in the JDF heritage include the early colonial
Jamaica Militia, the
Kingston Infantry Volunteers of WWI and reorganised into the
Jamaican Infantry Volunteers in WWII. The West Indies Regiment was reformed in 1958 as part of the
West Indies Federation. The dissolution of the Federation resulted in the establishment of the JDF.
The Jamaican Defence Force (JDF) comprises an infantry Regiment and Reserve Corps, an Air Wing, a Coast Guard fleet and a supporting Engineering Unit. The infantry regiment contains the 1st, 2nd and 3rd (National Reserve) battalions. The JDF Air Wing is divided into three flight units, a training unit, a support unit and the JDF Air Wing (National Reserve). The Coast Guard element is divided between sea-going crews and support crews. It conducts maritime safety and maritime law enforcement as well as defence-related operations. The support battalion contains a Military Police platoon as well as vehicle, armourers and supply units. The 1st Engineer Regiment provides military engineering support to the JDF. The Headquarters JDF contains the JDF commander, command staff as well as intelligence, judge advocate office, administrative and procurement sections.
In recent years the JDF has been called upon to assist the nation's police, the
Jamaican Constabulary Force (JCF) in fighting drug smuggling and a rising crime rate which includes one of the highest murder rates in the world. JDF units actively conduct armed patrols with the JCF in high-crime areas and known gang neighbourhoods. There has been vocal controversy as well as support of this JDF role. In early 2005, an opposition leader, Edward Seaga, called for the merger of the JDF and JCF. This has not garnered support in either organisation nor among the majority of citizens.
Though a small nation, Jamaica is rich in culture, and has a strong global presence. The musical genres
reggae,
ska,
mento,
rocksteady,
dub, and, more recently,
dancehall and
ragga all originated in the island's vibrant popular urban recording industry. Internationally known reggae musician, the legendary
Bob Marley, was born in Jamaica, and is very well respected there. The genre
jungle emerged from London's Jamaican diaspora. The birth of
hip-hop in New York also owed much to the city's Jamaican community.
Christianity remains a strong influence on cultural life, particularly in music. Most people learn their music at church, and biblical references are often used in popular songs. It is not uncommon for musicians to be playing dance music on Saturday night, and church music on Sunday morning.
The Rastafari movement was founded in Jamaica. This
Back to Africa movement believes that
Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is
God incarnate, the returned black
messiah, come to take the lost
Twelve Tribes of Israel back to live with him in Holy Mount
Zion in a world of perfect peace, love and harmony. Bob Marley, a convert to the faith, spread the message of Rastafari to the world. There are now estimated to be more than a million Rastafarians throughout the world.
The American film
Cocktail, starring
Tom Cruise, is one of the most popular films to depict Jamaica. A fascinating look at disturbed, godless youth in Jamaica is presented in the 1970s cops-and-robbers musical film
The Harder They Come, starring
Jimmy Cliff as a frustrated reggae-musician who gets caught up in crime.
* National Bird â€"
Doctor bird (
Green-and-black Streamertail,
Trochilus polytmus)
* National Flower â€"
Lignum vitae (
Guaiacum officinale)
* National Tree â€"
Blue Mahoe (
Hibiscus elatus)
* National Dish â€"
Ackee and Saltfish (dried salted
Cod)
* National Motto â€" "Out of Many, One People." (Unity among many cultures and races.)
*
The Jamaica Information Service (JIS)*
Conservation in Jamaica, including
**
Photos of coral reefs taken during a rapid ecological assessment
*
Library and Information Association of Jamaica Website*
Cabinet Official Website*
Jamaica National Symbols*
The Jamaica Diaspora Organization Website*
Positive news and information about Jamaica and Jamaicans*
The Jamaican Caves Organisation (JCO)*
Seven Oaks Sanctuary for Wildlife, Jamaica (SOS-Jamaica)*
Island Thresholds, Peabody Essex Museum's interactive feature, showcases the work of contemporary Caribbean artists and their exploration of identity, culture, and social justice.
*
Google News about Jamaica*
Encyclopaedia Britannica - Jamaica Country Page*
CIA World Fact Book entry on Jamaica*
JaWeb*
Jam-boree Newspaper Website*
Map of Jamaica*
Cockpit Country Hiking*
Jamaica is murder capital of the world*
Satellite maps on Google*
Webcam atop the Gleaner Newspaper building in Kingston*
VisitJamaica.com*
Photographs from 2005 of Jamaica's Landscape*
Jamaican Links Catalog*
The Jamaican Wiki (fixed link as of Aug 10 2006)
